Communications Manager OGP - The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

OGP is seeking an experienced Communications Manager to support the EU advocacy team.

The Role
The primary role of the OGP Communications Manager, Brussels, is to support members (in the form of the EU Committee) and the local secretariat in their engagement with the European Union and other EU-focused stakeholders.  This involves creation and implementation of a communications plan – for internal as well as external audiences – based on the Association’s advocacy priorities in Brussels.

Reporting to the EU Affairs Director (with dotted lines to the Executive Director and the London-based External Affairs Manager), the Brussels Communications Manager will be responsible for supporting advocacy efforts and so maximising the impact of official communications and position papers via news releases, media briefings, brochures, speeches etc.   Work will also involve close collaboration with other members of the Brussels secretariat in conceptualising and arranging events such as exhibitions, dinner debates and seminars aimed at EU opinion formers and decision-makers.

The Brussels-based Communications Manager will work closely with the London-based OGP Communications function and serve as an active member of the Communications Committee.  This will ensure consistency in messaging and approach throughout the organisation and avoid duplication of effort.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum of five years experience, in an equivalent role in similar organisations in Brussels, that has involved drafting strategies and responsibility for communications with EU institutions, stakeholders  and relevant media with demonstrable success
• Graduate or equivalent
• Brussels-based
• Excellent PC and social networking skills (Word, PowerPoint, Internet, Twitter etc.)

Attributes and knowledge

• Excellent written and spoken communications in English with fluency in at least one other EU language
• A good understanding of the upstream oil and gas industry and its significance in the EU and beyond
• Strong interpersonal and networking skills for building contacts externally and within OGP committees, member companies, stakeholders and allied organisations as well as the OGP secretariat itself
• An outstanding team player with a diplomatic approach and appropriate cultural sensitivities
• A proven ability to grasp – and when needed, to simplify – complex technical, economic and legal issues
• Proven success in arranging – and engaging in – interviews across the full range of print and electronic media
• Experience with online advocacy campaigning an advantage.

Within a few months:

• A thorough understanding of the structure and functioning of the upstream industry
• An awareness of existing and draft EU legislation impacting upstream operations
• The ability to assess EU Institutions output, extract essentials from extraneous details and gauge any impacts for the upstream oil and gas sectors
• A (rapidly growing) relevant, quality network of EU Institution, stakeholder and media contacts
• Good working relationships with EU Committee, the secretariat in Brussels and London and Communications Committee members.

Responsibilities

• Working with OGP Brussels policy managers, to identify key points in the legislative timeline when OGP public response would support advocacy work effectively

- drawing up communications strategies to support advocacy work
- draft news releases ahead of major EU events (adoption of Directives by the Commission, Parliament votes etc.) or OGP events (Gas Week, EEF dinners in the Parliament etc)

• Building relationships with key EU media in a process to include background briefings and arranging and managing interviews with senior OGP Brussels figures (both secretariat and membership) on priority issues
• Responding directly to media enquiries and, on occasion, participating directly in interviews
• Monitoring media (incl. social media) to keep an eye on trends/emerging issues/emerging stakeholders and devising and operating potential response channels
• Taking responsibility for internal and external OGP communications channels such as the public website and updates to members
• Serving on the OGP Communications Committee with an active remit to convey EU issues to the wider group and take back to Brussels management and EUC members those more general issues that could have EU implications

Organisation

• Reports to EU Affairs Director with dotted line to the Executive Director and the London-based External Affairs Manager.

Please send a motivation letter and CV to jobs@ogp.be no later than noon on December 19th.

• the motivation letter should include salary expectations

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.  Interviews will take place in Brussels in January 2013.